The Vice Chairman (South-east) of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Dr. Chudi Nwike, who was kidnapped weeks ago by unknown gunmen, has been found killed by his abductors after they got some money as ransom on the victim.
Dr. Nwike, a former Deputy Governor of Anambra State, was kidnapped on March 19, this year and taken to a hidden location from where they demanded for N30 million to get him released.
The kidnappers later agreed that the family paid N5 million. It was learnt that Bufo Nwike, a family member, paid the amount to the kidnappers in Delta State on April 5. After receiving the ransom, the kidnappers cut all further communications with the latter. Rather than receive the victim from them, the family members now have his corpse.
The ACN said his body was recovered by men of the Agbor Police Station, Delta State who contacted the family. In a statement confirming the incident, Okelo Madukaife, the party’s Publicity Secretary in the state said: “Dr. Nwike’s body has been identified by our state chairman, Chief Amaechi Obidike, our State Secretary, Barr Emeka Ibe and his brother Dr Bufo Nwike at Agbor Police Station in Delta State.”
According to the family, the suspected kidnappers made contact with his brother, Dr. Bufo Nwike, shortly after with a ransom demand of N30 million equivalent, delivered in US Dollars.
“The younger Dr. Nwike, negotiated the sum to N5 million which was delivered to a location in Delta State through a courier on Friday April 05, 2013, after rejecting the offer for the wife or the brother to deliver the money.
“But rather than release the ex-Deputy Governor, the kidnappers seized the money and the courier on April 05, 2013, cutting off all communication, until the body was found,” the ACN said adding that “efforts and all contacts made by our party to relevant authorities had not yielded any dividend.
The party raised concerns that law enforcement agents who should handle the incident, became indifferent to it.
“We worked and prayed to see Dr. Nwike return safe and alive to continue contributing as he had been doing to our party; we toiled to see our South East National Vice Chairman, play his traditional fatherly role in the tasks immediately before us. But we are crest-fallen that Dr. Nwike has gone the way of all mortals, though in a way we would have wished away,” the party said adding that it was ashamed of the circumstances of his death.
